Tower 28's New Sculpting Cream Made Me a Contour Convert

There are countless contour techniques running rampant on TikTok that promise seamless, subtle sculpting—yet, I've never been able to get the hang of it. Most cream contour products I've tried have a heavy texture that sits on top of the skin, or lean either too muddy or too orange. However, clean beauty brand Tower 28 is here to save the day: On February 15, the brand is launching its new cream contour product, Sculptino Soft Cream Contour. Ahead, everything you need to know, plus my honest review.

The Inspiration

If you think you’re the only one who, despite years of trying, can’t quite nail contouring, you'll find comfort in knowing that Tower 28’s founder, Amy Liu, feels the same way. “I’ve worked in the beauty industry for over 15 years, and I still found contour intimidating—I knew I wasn’t alone," Liu tells Byrdie. "Traditional contour products always felt too hard to blend, and the shades [were] either too gray or orange.”

The Tower 28 team had one thing in mind when creating Sculptino Soft Cream Contour: ease of use. “As a mom of three, I don’t have much time in the morning and tend to keep my makeup as simple as possible,” explains Liu. “Easy-to-blend-in, can’t-mess-up shades [are a necessity]. Sculptino was designed for those who want a foolproof way to add dimension without the fear of messing up.”

The Formula

The Tower 28 Sculptino Soft Cream Contour is a matte sculpting product that comes in a cream formula with additional skincare benefits. "We packed it full of skin-soothing ingredients like green tea extract, aloe vera, and castor seed oil to keep even the most sensitive skin glowy and healthy," says Liu. Much like the rest of Tower 28's products, Sculptino is clean, vegan, silicone-free, safe for sensitive skin, and comes in packaging made from 50% post-consumer recycled resin.

"The formula feels super silky and melts right into your skin, so you don’t need to buff forever and ever to blend it in, like I’ve found with traditional contour products," says Liu. "Honestly, I can just blend it all over my face, and it looks better!" Some cream contour products can feel like a thick foundation on the skin—Sculptino Soft Cream Contour, however, has a balm-like texture that feels lightweight and adds a satin sheen to the complexion while sculpting the face.

Sculpltino comes in four shades, including Broad, for fair to light skin tones; Getty, for light to medium skin tones; Hammer, for medium to tan skin tones; and Simon, for deep skin tones.

The brand recommends using Sculptino wherever you like to contour, like the hairline, jawline, cheekbones, and the sides of the nose. Since the formula is cool-toned, Liu says that she likes to add a cream bronzer like the brand's Bronzino at the top of her cheeks to mimic a sun-kissed glow, and then finish off the rest of the complexion with a cream blush.

My Review

I'll admit—I'm a sucker for TikTok makeup trends, which is why I've been trying to perfect the infamous Mary Phillips contour technique (you know, the one that Hailey Bieber uses). The problem with that technique, however, is that I don't really wear foundation day to day, and I don't go for a heavy contour (or heavy complexion products in general) during my daily routine. And, finally, I find that most cream contour sticks have an almost chalky texture that makes blending difficult.

Upon doing a swatch test, I saw that this cream contour has a buttery finish on the skin, while depositing a considerable amount of pigment. Sure, Sculptino Soft Cream Contour isn't the most pigmented cream contour product I've tried, but that's actually a good thing. The lightweight texture makes it buildable, which is great for people like me who enjoy having the option for lighter coverage on the daily, or heavier coverage for special occasions.

But back to how this product helped me nail the Mary Phillips technique. Since it has a balm-like texture, it glides across primed skin effortlessly, leaving very little room for me accidentally rub contour all over my face in an effort to blend the product in. Plus, it has a slightly warmer—but not too warm—tint to it that can almost work as a bronzer as well when I'm in a pinch for time.

All in all, despite the heaping amounts of cream contour products that make their way to my desk, I can see myself hitting pan on Tower 28's Sculptino Soft Cream Contour.

Tower 28 Sculptino Soft Matte Cream Contour $20.00

Shop